A Fateful Meeting
The Two Sages It was quite a miserable day in Yamashi Village, which surprised next to none of its inhabitants or visitors, given the reputation the majority of the Land of Water had for its horrible weather. The grey clouds and the slight drizzle had even taken its toll on the usually cheerful Raiden. Even the manner in which he walked made how he felt obvious to even a stranger. Today was Raidens day off from his pestering duties that came with being a Jounin shinobi of Kirigakure. What brought Raiden out of his home village was the famed Tempura shop, ’Murasaki’s Treat’’. Raiden held this restaurant dear to his heart, as it was his favourite Tempura shop in the world. “Stupid Weather,” Raiden thought to himself, walking with his head facing downwards and his hands in his pockets. His head rose with purpose as he realised Murasaki’s was moments away. Upon his arrival he greeted the staff, he knew all too well due to being a regular customer and gave the owner a slight nod indicating that he wanted his regular order. A steaming hot, extra-large bowl of Tempura with a side of noodles. A large smile arose on Raidens face when his food was placed before him. The first bite managed to turn his whole mood around in a matter of seconds. The smile remained on his face as he began to devour his scrumptious meal. The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance as Hououza walked into the smaller village, It was a nice change of pace from the usual large towns he visited. He was here with a purpose however, to spread the knowledge of senjutsu to anyone who wanted to know. Over his travels many had declined though some due to fear, others due to disbelief, and some he declined himself as they were to power-hungry. The brown cloaked man let out a sigh as he approached a shop known as ’Murasaki’s Treat’’. Hououza smiled as he entered the place and his lungs were filled with the delicious smell of noodles and tempura. He walked up the the bar and sat beside a man scarfing down tempura. "One bowl of noodles and tempura beans please." He spoke to the waiter and before long his bowl of food was before him. With less than half of the bowl in his stomach, Raiden paused. He felt... uneasy. "Wh-What is this?", he thought to himself, whilst staring deep into his unfinished bowl. A strong chakra radiated from the cloaked man who had recently seated himself beside Raiden. He glanced over to the man, he had bright red hair, similar to that of the clansmen of his cousin-clan, the Uzumaki's. However, he knew that the man wasn't of Uzumaki lineage by the mere feel of his chakra. The man donned no clear affiliations to a hidden village, which furthered Raidens confusion. No matter how hard Raiden thought, he couldn't seem to figure out who the man may be. Nor could he seem to recognize the chakra signature. For closure or sheer curiosity, or maybe a bit of both he decided to ask. Before taking another few spoonfuls and digesting it, he turned on his chair to face the man. "Pardon my intrusion, but what is your name and who exactly are you. It's quite obvious that you aren't just a normal person enjoying tempura and noodles," Raiden asked boldly and nearly comically. Hououza was quietly eating his beans when the man next to him spoke up. It was then that he turned towards him. The man exuded a massive amount of chakra, clearly kage level and wore a kiri headband. "My name is Hououza." He replied calmly as he turned towards the man. "I am a traveling sage, spreading the wonder of senjutsu to all who would want it." He told the man with utmost pride. He was happy with what he did and even happier to share it with others. It wasn't everyday you encountered a practitioner of the renowned Senjutsu. Raiden wasn't surprised at all that the man before him was one of the few that was able to use it. However what did surprise him was that he hadn't heard of the man before. During a time on a mission in a another village a while back, Raiden seemed to remember hearing rumors of a travelling Sage teaching the ways of the Sage but until now Raiden thought it was just a rumor. If this was or wasn't the man from the rumor, it doesn't change the fact Hououza had the same agenda as him. One Raiden wasn't to fond of. "Not everyone deserves to know how to use Senjutsu," he thought to himself. Raiden believed that in the wrong hands the powers it grants could prove a nuisance to any shinobi. Being another one of the worlds few Senjutsu users, he would know how dangerous it could potentially be. Remembering he was in the middle of conversation, he broke out of his thought track and spoke. "You teach Senjutsu, huh? I should hope you know how dangerous what your doing is. There are certain people out in the world who would have you killed for spreading such a power around the place," He warned, taking a much more serious tone than before. Hououza looked at the man with an unmoving expression of tranquility. "I know full well the risks of teaching this but everyone has the right to learn and if anyone wants to learn I shall teach them. It's not every day that someone in a desolated village that can barely defend themselves is offered the ability to learn the ways of the sage, to gain the power to protect what they hold dear." Hououza was not just speaking to speak but speaking from his heart. This was the truth he believed in, he wanted to make sure what happened to him and his village never happened to anyone else. His village was burned to ashes by rouge ninja and everyone but him died, no one could defend themselves. "I see," Raiden replied, still not entirely with the fact of spreading Senjutsu. While thinking of what could of possibly drove Hououza to do what he did, a large explosion sounded outside the restaurant. Without a second thought he ran outside, leaving a near empty cold bowl of Tempura. Outside he saw a group of people donning animal masks, within the middle of the group was a man tied up by rope. "T-The Mayor! H-He's been taken captive!" a fleeing bystander screaming. Raiden was enraged that a group of thugs had taken the Mayor hostage. He entered his Thundercloud State and prepared for battle. Hououza was right behind him as he dashed out, upon seeing the men in masks with the mayor held hostage his eyes narrowed. "So nameless man I just met, judging by your chakra your a sage huh." Hououza spoke as he still did not know the man's name. "I don't know how you do things but judging by the vibe of this place it seems we are the only one capable of stopping them. Shall we call a pause on our discussion to save these people." He stated as he extended his hand.